Disk drives typically use heads residing on sliders to read from and write to the magnetic media. A head typically includes a read transducer and a write, or recording transducer. FIG. 1 depicts a conventional magnetic recording transducer 10. The magnetic recording transducer 10 includes coils 12, main pole 14, insulators 16, and shield 18. The conventional write transducer 10 typically utilizes photoresist as the insulator 16. In addition, the return shield 18 is typically formed of two separate pieces—18A and 18B. The coil 12 has three turns. Typically, three turns are required to obtain a sufficient field in the yoke of the pole 14.
The trend in magnetic recording is to higher densities and higher data rates. For higher data rates, additional requirements may be placed on the conventional write transducer 10. For example, a faster field rise time and, therefore, faster magnetic field reversals are desired. Faster times generally require a shorter yoke length. A shorter yoke length also corresponds to a smaller distance available for the coils 12. However, the conventional transducers 10 can only be shrunk to a limited extent because of the coil cross-section required to support the desired current and insulation between the turns. For example, the length of the yoke for the transducers 10 is typically 5 μm or longer. Thus, the write transducers 10 may be unsuitable for use at higher data rates.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for providing improved write transducers that may be used at higher data rates.